People celebrate the arrival of the New Year at Marine Drive in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)





A Sadhu or Hindu holy man smokes a “chillum”, a traditional clay pipe, at a camp in Prayagraj on January 3, 2025, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival. (Photo by Niharika Kulkarni/AFP Photo)





A sculpture of the Hulk made of flowers is on display at the Flower Show in Ahmedabad, India, Friday, January 3, 2025. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)





An Indian Sikh boy shouts religious slogans during a procession ahead of the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh in Jammu, India, Friday, January 3, 2025. (Photo by Channi Anand/AP Photo)





A Sadhu, or a Hindu holy man, throws flower petals on the devotees as he takes part in a religious procession of Niranjani Akhara, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on January 4, 2025. (Photo by Niharika Kulkarni/AFP Photo)





A woman paints earthenware pots ahead of the Hindu harvest festival Pongal in Chennai on January 6, 2025. (Photo by R. Satish Babu/AFP Photo)





Nihang or Sikh warriors ride horses to mark the birth anniversary of the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, at the Kangan Ghat in Patna on January 6, 2025. (Photo by Sachin Kumar/AFP Photo)





An Indian man dressed as Hindu goddess Kali dances during Shri Anand Akhara Panchayati in a procession towards the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges and Yamuna, during the first '“oyal entry” (Peshwai) for the Mahakumbh festival, lasting 55 days and celebrated every 12 years in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Monday, January 6, 2025. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)





A woman with face covered in cloth, walks past a wall mural promoting awareness on using face masks, in Varanasi on January 7, 2025, amid alleged media reports suggesting that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has detected cases of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in India. (Photo by Niharika Kulkarni/AFP Photo)





Kashmiri fishermen cover their heads and part of their boats with blanket and straw as they catch fish on the frozen waters of the Anchar Lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 08 January 2025. In winter months every year from 21 December to 30 April the Kashmiri fishermen use unique method of camouflaging their presence to lure the fish into a trap with the help of reeds and shock waves by beating the water. (Photo by Farooq Khan/EPA/EFE)





School girls perform Punjabi folk dance “Giddha” ahead of the upcoming 'Lohri' festival at a government school in Amritsar on January 8, 2025. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)





Indian soldiers march during a rehearsal for the upcoming Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)





Farmers shout slogans as they burn an effigy of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest against the union government demanding minimum support price (MSP) for their crops, on the outskirts of Amritsar on January 10, 2025. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)





Kashmiri boys carry baskets of fresh bread as they walk through the interiors of Dal Lake on a cold winter morning in Srinagar, on January 10, 2025. (Photo by Sharafat Ali/Reuters)





Hindu devotees perform fire-breathing act during a religious procession ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on January 10, 2025. (Photo by Niharika Kulkarni/AFP Photo)





Girls throw puffed rice, sweets, and ground nuts in a bonfire ahead of the upcoming “Lohri” festival, in Amritsar on January 10, 2025. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)





Hindu devotees smeared with ash dance during a religious procession ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on January 10, 2025. (Photo by Niharika Kulkarni/AFP Photo)





Members of Panchayati Akhara Bada Udasin take part in a religious procession as they head towards the Kumbh Mela festival ahead of the royal bath near the Sangam, the confluence of three of the holiest rivers in Hindu mythology – Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati – in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, 12 January 2025. Every 12 years, Hindu pilgrims gather for ritual baths at the river's banks during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival. (Photo by Rajat Gupta/EPA)





Devotees take a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers ahead of the “Maha Kumbh Mela”, or the Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, India, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





Kite enthusiasts fly kites during the International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad, India, on January 12, 2025. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)